Oklahoma Innovation Index to Launch: Measuring creativity and workforce skills in schools
OKLAHOMA CITY (January 25th) — A new statewide index is being launched this February to measure and promote skills that better prepare students to compete in a global economy. The Oklahoma Innovation Index describes, ranks, and categorizes what teachers do in their classes that meet criteria for being creative. The Index is the first in the nation to measure these skills in K-20 schools.
The Index was developed as a joint project of Creative Oklahoma and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin. The Oklahoma Innovation Index Task Force, created and approved by the Governor, was convened monthly over a two-year period with Oklahoma based working groups to develop the Index. The Task Force was composed of Oklahoma education and business professionals with two members of the Governor’s cabinet participating.
Creative Oklahoma will continue to serve as administrator and principal project supervisor of the Oklahoma Innovation Index. Funding for the initial research phase of the project has been provided by the Windgate Charitable Foundation based in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
During the research phase, researchers will test the usefulness of the Index, its effectiveness and impact on learning. The Index is designed to help schools to teach, foster, and promote skills that develop imagination and creativity. Twelve public schools in Oklahoma and Arkansas, including schools in the A+ Schools network, will be participating in the study.
“By offering a measurement for creativity and innovation in the classroom, Creative Oklahoma seeks to provide a tool that gives our state and our students a competitive edge,” said Susan McCalmont, President of Creative Oklahoma. We must foster these skills to meet the workforce challenges facing us today and in the future. The Oklahoma Innovation Index will assist in providing both examples and strong incentives for teachers to give opportunities for students to practice imagination and creativity, particularly through integrating creativity and innovation throughout the curriculum.
The Oklahoma Innovation Index’s research team will be led by Dr. Kathy Goff, Co-Founder of Vast Learning System and Creative Oklahoma cSchool faculty member, and Dr. Rex Jung, assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of New Mexico, research scientist at the Mind Research Network, and a practicing clinical neuropsychologist in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
About Creative Oklahoma
Creative Oklahoma is a statewide non-profit organization advancing Oklahoma’s economy through innovation-focused initiatives in education, commerce and culture. The mission is to transform Oklahoma through projects and collaborative ventures that help develop an improved life quality for its citizens and a more entrepreneurial and vibrant economy. For more information, please visit www.creativeoklahoma.org
About Oklahoma A+ Schools
OKA+ provides schools with ongoing professional development, an intricate network of support, and an active research component. They coach schools through a process to create an educational environment that gets kids excited about learning and produces better achievement through preparing teachers and principals to think more creatively about how to present their curriculum in collaborative and hands-on ways. http://www.okaplus.org